Petition campaign gains momentum

By RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff Jul 27 2007 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/

The Vernon Taxpayers Association is increasingly confident that it will force the city to go to referendum. The association has been collecting voters’ names on an alternate approval petition since July 16 in the hopes of preventing the city from long-term borrowing of $20 million to construct a new ibrary/administration building. “We’re going to win. I’m not going to give numbers out yet but the response is overwhelming,” said spokesman Tony Stamboulieh. The association’s goal is to collect the names of at least 10 per cent of Vernon’s voters or 2,777 names. If that occurs, the city will have to consider other funding options for the complex, including going to referendum, using short-term borrowing or selling property.

Stamboulieh insists the alternate approval process is undemocratic because it’s not understood by most voters and a referendum is more transparent. “People are put out by the arrogance of council,” he said. The association has petitions available at a number locations including Butcher Boys, Okanagan Sausage, Buy-Low Foods and the Vernon Farmers Market. Stamboulieh is also upset that the city is promoting the proposed building through advertising. “It’s propaganda. They are using tax dollars to counter the counter-petition,” he said. But Coun. Patrick Nicol disagrees that council and city staff are trying to influence the alternate approval process. “Well intentioned people are just trying to put forward the process,” he said. Nicol is not hearing from many residents about the issue of borrowing money for a complex, and he says there hasn’t been a stampede of people signing the petition at city hall. “They’ve only received a few names but that’s not a true indication of things,” he said, referring to the association’s campaign. The city has stated that the alternate approval process was necessary to ensure tight timelines for government grants can be met. “It (complex) helps the RCMP, the library and the city,” said Nicol. The city has alternate approval petitions available at city hall, the art gallery and the library. The alternate approval process continues until Aug. 15.

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Jul 27 2007 EDITORIAL City botches petition process

It may be a stretch to call the City of Vernon’s current advertising campaign propaganda, but it certainly isn’t doing much to make the public informed about the alternate approval process. At a time when the city is using the process as a way to garner public approval to borrow $20 million for a new library/office complex, there are few details about how the process actually works. Of course the city wants the petition campaign to fail so borrowing can go ahead. But it is still incumbent on council and administration to be up front about a public approval process that it has claimed is legitimate and fair. Where are the petition forms available? What are the legal requirements for someone to sign the petition in opposition to borrowing? None of that is in the current ad.

And one has to wonder why that’s not happening, especially when all of this information is publicized before an election or traditional referendum. If people don’t understand the alternate approval process or are suspicious of the city’s motives, it may partly be because of the information vacuum. There is nothing wrong with the city using advertising to state its case for long-term borrowing of $20 million. But using tax dollars for those promotional materials comes with some responsibility and that has been woefully lacking. It is interesting to read the city advertisement, especially the part that urges residents to be informed about the purpose of the borrowing bylaw. Apparently information is only provided when it suits the city's needs. If in the end the city gets its way and the alternate approval process fails, it will largely be because residents were kept in the dark.